A track composed in memory of my friend Graham. He loved his family, motorbikes and fast cars, football, and music of all sorts. A big man with a big heart, he worked to make the world a better place for others. He has left that world too soon.

Graham Cheney 05/10/1956 - 09/10/2022.

For Graham

Johnny Moynihan

The Road You Came

When the frost is all over you’ll take to the road,
You will know every twist that her waysides might bring,
And any old song that you happen to meet
You will give it to us and we’ll happily sing.

All you have gathered, all you have shared
Of gipsies and sailors and maidens forlorn;
You sang with a beauty that every one heard,
The songs of the heart that you made your own.

Chorus
Bouzouki and mandolin ringing again —
You brought innovation to brighten the way,
We listened like kids to the new — Sweeney’s Men —
The bould ‘Waxies’ Dargle” and each Willie’s lay.
A song trove, a treasure, you spilled from your heart
A wanderer’s diary of music and song,
Ah! Johnny, you gave many hopefuls their start,
When they followed your lead, sure they couldn’t go wrong.

Songs that you gathered like grains from the field,
The poor people’s scriptures, the lays of the heart,
They sing in the earth, that the deep frost has sealed —
When the frost is all over, you might make a start.

Chorus
With bousouki and mandolin ringing again;
You brought innovation to brighten the way
We listened like kids to the new — Sweeney’s Men —
The bould ‘Waxies’ Dargle’ and each Willie’s lay.
A song trove, a treasure, you spilled from your hands
A wanderer’s dairy of music and song,
Ah! Johnny, you gave many hopefuls their start,
When they followed your lead, sure they couldn’t go wrong.

— ©  Frank Callery

Johnny Moynihan

One more of our usual duo tunes.  And I'm thinking the ending needs changed.  :)

Wading in the Shallows - WIP on Appalachian dulcimer and guitar

Modern technology enables us all to observe the ebb and flow of the battles in Ukraine, whether recorded from a silent hovering drone, or a GoPro camera attached to the helmet of a combatant. Thousands of lives squandered because one man sought to pursue his insane ambitions, and many more around him sought to profit from this or were too weak to say No. Widely dispersed on social media and news sites, we see remotely, these tiny figures struggling in the unforgiving mud to evade the call of Death; to make it through to the following day and the one after that.  So many do not, and they are left behind in the mud, or they disappear in eruptions of white smoke and fire. 

This piece was inspired by the words of a middle-aged Ukrainian soldier, interviewed in a trench near Bakhmut, who was bewildered at the scale of loss endured by his opponents and the lack of care by those that sent them to take this land from Ukraine.  

I have made a simple animation to go with it, which can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CThPLVLPvQE

The Fields of Bakhmut

The Fields Of Bakhmut

Episode LI is a spooky Halloween special coming straight from the swamps of Louisiana to steal your soul away. This episode features guest presenter Summer Newman of Holy Locust fame and showcases some of the creepiest traditional tunes and songs, rambling digressions on the calendar custom of Samhain / Halloween in Irish folk and fairy lore as well as some Dungeon Synth and experimental tracks for good measure.

Tracklist

Paul Miles and His Red Fox Chasers – Did You Ever See The Devil, Uncle Joe
The Voice Squad – I Am Stretched On Your Grave
Mick O’Brien & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh – An Manglam / The Fairy Reel / I Have No Money
Ruskavellas – Ballad of the Twelve Marys
Swan Arcade – Go from My Window
Maire O'Sullivan – The Fairy Lullaby
Dean Gitter – The Suffolk Miracle
Mag Doyle – The Banshee (story)
Micho Russell – The Banshee (reel)
Dónal Maguire – Willie O
Sunken Grove – Upon a Hill, Fairy Folk are Gathering
Len Graham – Sweet William's Ghost
Rónán Galvin – Taibhse Chonaill
The Copper Family – Babes in the Wood
Eddie Noack – Psycho
Matmos – Zealous Order Of Candied Knights

https://campsite.bio/firedrawnear

FDN LI

I finally finished another piece for the Clutha Project!

The Firth of Clyde has many types of sea birds and waders gracing its shores. I particularly love the antics of the Oystercatchers. These strikingly handsome birds with their beady red eyes strut and fret through the sands and rock pools as they prod and poke for their next meal. Their pace is slow, slow, quick quick, slow, as they dispute a scrap of ragworm, or chase off the smaller wading birds that get in their way. 

Ever watchful for disturbance or danger, they will instantly take off at the slightest provocation and wheel around in their groups, low over the water, before settling down again just a few yards away. 

I find them a perky and jolly sort of bird. I was watching them during a recent holiday in Berwick on Tweed, when i got the idea for this tune, which tries to capture their strutting and their sudden take-offs. Hopefully you will find it a jolly tune. Lord knows there's a current shortage of jollity in the world....

The guitar is real and played by me. The other instruments are virtual,  courtesy of Spitfire Audio Solstice Orchestra, and 8DIO Bazantar. Field recordings were taken by me at Berwick.

The Oyster Catchers (Clutha Project)

The Verdant Braes of Skreen

Solstice Sounds is Ireland's only regular Spoken Word magazine. Each solstice we seek poetry, spoken word, and experimental sounds. 

This volume was Guest Edited by Paul McNamara.

To find out more, see www.stanzas.ie/solstice

man shed

2 - Cormac Lally - Plane

DIN = striking both sides of the dhol at the same time

NANA represents when only the treble side is played continuously to create this sound.

NANA

Instruments:
Burke tin whistle, Doug Tipple flute, bongos, conga, frame drum, karatala, egg shaker, shruti box, organ effect on iPad

Downy Woodpecker

Play Traditional Irish music on Mountain Dulcimer.

The Verdant Braes of Skreen

MacAodha

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